COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – A tenant is facing charges after five young animals are safe after they were rescued from what authorities are calling “unimaginable living conditions”.

The three puppies and two kittens were mistreated and abandoned inside a home filled with trash, urine, feces, and more.

“We had to get protective equipment on. The floor is just…there’s a layer of muck on the floor. The smell, the feces, the urine, rotting food, insect infestation,” Joey Prince, Columbus County Animal Control Manager continues. “We’re pretty sure there were some rats in there. So it was….I don’t know a word bad enough to describe it. But it was beyond horrible.”

Prince says the owners of a home in Whiteville called about abandoned dogs left by the current tenant.

Authorities say she abandoned at least 3 dogs and two cats, most of which malnourished and have fleas and ticks.

“See the ribs here are clearly visible,” says Prince. “That shouldn’t be so. You can see a lot of dander.”

He says the county can help if you can’t take care of your pet if needed.

“Call us when you can’t take care of your animal. We come out free of charge and you’re not looking at any criminal prosecution. Because our main goal is to help the animal and residents of the county,” Prince says.

Because nothing, animal or human, should be living in the conditions that he found these pups in.